East Europan Imperial Alliance
The East Europan Imperial Alliance is one of two major world powers of Europa in the Valkyria Chronicles universe and the main antagonist in Valkyria Chronicles, Valkyria Chronicles 3, and Valkyria Chronicles 4. Overview ]] A conglomerate of nations united under the rule of the East Europan Emperor, commonly referred to as "The Empire." The Industrial Revolution that occurred when ragnite was discovered as a useful energy source saw the nations of eastern Europa, pioneers in machine technology, rise to power. Already tightly bound by a network of marriages amongst their royalty, these nations now joined hands in a formal international alliance. While not technically an autocracy, the emperor enjoys limitless authority within the alliance. The Empire retains customs and practices held over from medieval times, and its people are known to harbor conservative views including a strong hatred for the Darcsen race, who are often put into forced labor camps to provide labour and materials for the Empire. The culture of the Imperial Alliance still has strong roots in medieval times. This influence can be seen in the armor that the soldiers wear, and in in the vows of fealty that each soldier makes to the king. The capital of the Empire is Schwartzgrad. Military The Empire places a heavy emphasis on armor and large caliber weapons, with many of its tanks greatly out-massing their Federation and Gallian counterparts. The latest weapons developed by the Empire include a variety of superheavy tanks (Batomys-class) and even a terrestrial dreadnaught, Marmota. Foreign Relations Atlantic Federation Being the only other super-power on the continent, the Atlantic Federation is the primary rival of the Empire. Both the First Europan War and the Second Europan War were primarily conflicts arising between the Empire and the Federation over Ragnite resources. Principality of Gallia Rich in Ragnite minerals, Gallia was a target of Empire invasion during both the First Europan War and the Second Europan War. Both invasions were repelled by Gallian forces. After Prince Maximilian died in the Invasion of Gallia in 1935, the Empire signed a treaty ending its war with Gallia. As part of the agreement, members of the Imperial nobility were sent to Gallia ostensibly to help further ties between the two nations. In reality, they were hostages against any new attempts by the Empire to invade. Prominent Members * Drei Stern ** Maximilian ** Selvaria Bles ** Berthold Gregor ** Radi Jaeger * Calamity Raven ** Dahau ** Lydia Agthe ** Zig * Helmut Bourdais * X-0: ** Crymaria Levin ** Forseti ** Heinrich Belgar ** Nikola Graf ** Chiara Rocino * Klaus Walz Real-World References * The Empire references several powers, including but not limited to the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Imperial Germany, Tsarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. *The Empire's territories cover a similar area to that held by the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. * Imperial vehicles are armed with weapons using the same calibers as the Soviet Union's. * The Empire's invasion of Gallia is reminiscent of the German invasion of Belgium in both 1914 and 1940, as well as the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. * There are a number of references to Nazi Germany in the Empire. ** Many of its weapons are based on real-world weapons used by the Germans during WW2. For example, the ZM Kar has a similar name to the Karabiner 98 and 43 rifles, commonly shortened to Kar, and the ZM MP models are visually based on the MP 40 SMG, appearing practically identical from the trigger guard back. ** The Empire's cruel treatment of Darcsens reflects part of the treatment that Jews and various other "undesirables" suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime. *It also bears resemblance to the Central Powers of Austria-Hungary and the German Empire with the latter being hinted at by the overview. ** The ZM SG rifle bears a visual similarity to the Mannlicher designs issued by Austria-Hungary and later their successor states, such as the 35M Puska and a model briefly fielded by the German Empire during the 1890s. ** The Imperial coat of arms is also vaguely similar to the Double-headed Eagle that was the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary, Prussia/Imperial Germany, Byzantine Empire, Russian Empire etc., although it bears the most resemblance to the one on the flag of the Greek Orthodox Church. ** The Army of the German Empire also issued armour to its troops during the First World War, but to a much lesser degree. ** Several Imperial characters wear holsters for German Luger pistols, such as Gregor. * At least three of the Empire's arms companies are named after real manufacturers; Krimm is named after Krupp, Mustela after Mauser, Tula after the Tula Arsenal (better known by the name TOZ). ''Zechmeister'' seems to be a more oblique reference to Hugo Schmiesser and his work with "United Suhl-Zella Mehlis Armament Makers" (ie ZM). * The reference to the Emperor as the "King of Kings" echoes the traditional title of the Persian and Ottoman rulers, Padishah (literally "master of kings") rendered in Arabic as Malik Al-Amlak. Broadly, it is a statement that there is no greater authority than the holder of the title. It made its way to Europe in a number of ways, most notably in its use to describe the Christian God in 1 Timothy 6:15 and Jesus in Revelation 17:14 and 19:16, and it is commonly used as a title for God or Jesus in Christian hymns. It was also used in the motto of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty in the form Βασιλεύς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων (Basileus Basileon, Basileuon Basileuonton - "King of Kings, Ruling over Those who Rule") and appears in Western works such as the poem Ozymandias. Category:Nations Category:Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance